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Inside the Workshop: "AI-Driven Innovation: Building Products for Real Customer Value"

  • Writer: Steve McCurry
    Steve McCurry
  • Feb 10
  • 3 min read

The following is the agenda for a 'typical' in-person innovation workshop. This agenda can be tailored to your specific organization and outcomes during the initial consultation -


Total Duration: 7 Hours (9:30 AM – 4:30 PM). This includes 1 hour for lunch and 2 x 15 minute breaks.

Workshop Outcomes: 

  • A renewed sense of collaboration and teamwork that can be leveraged beyond the workshop. 

  • A prioritized roadmap of new AI-powered product features, complete with identified risks and mitigation strategies. 



Pre-Workshop Preparation

To be completed prior to the session to maximize our time together:

  • Personal User Manual:Each participant completes a short “user manual” outlining their working style, strengths, and communication preferences (template provided via Google Docs or Miro).

  • Customer Story Assignment:Participants bring a brief customer testimonial, case study, or news article that highlights a customer challenge or need.

  • Background Reading:A primer on generative AI trends and an overview of the current product strategy is shared for a common foundation.

  • ICP Template:Complete the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP template. This is essential to frame the target of the product ideation workshop. The ICP will also be used as input to the AI-powered ideation. 

  • Product Roadmap / Strategy:Provide any existing roadmap or product strategy documents. These will be used to frame the ideation workshop and also as input to the AI-powered ideation.  


Workshop Agenda

9:30 – 10:15 AM: Welcome and Warm-Up (45 minutes)

  • Introductions & Agenda Overview (10 minutes):Facilitators welcome everyone, introduce the day’s objectives, and explain how the blend of trust-building, strategic alignment, and prototyping will drive innovation.

  • Icebreaker (30 minutes): A fun exercise (e.g., “Two Truths and a Lie” to build rapport and open communication. Participants also share their customer story.


10:15 – 11:15 AM: Foundational Alignment (60 minutes)

  • Review ICP & User Personas (30 minutes):In cross-functional groups, review and refine your Ideal Customer Profile and key user personas. Use digital sticky notes on a shared Miro board to map out customer needs.

  • Product Strategy & Trend Mapping (30 minutes):Align on the current product strategy and conduct a trend-mapping exercise to identify how generative AI can create added customer value. Discuss market and competitive trends.


11:15 – 11:30 AM: Coffee Break (15 minutes)


11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Ideation Phase – Brainstorming AI-Driven Solutions (60 minutes)

  • Brainstorming Idea (30 minutes):Working in small, cross-functional teams, participants will create as many ideas as possible in the limited timeframe. We will use a structured brainstorming approach to maximise the effectiveness of this session. 

  • Quick Idea Sharing (20 minutes):Groups share their ideas with the full team, setting the stage for further discussion.

  • Voting (10 minutes):Participants vote on the ideas that best align with your ICP, customer needs and product strategy. The top ideas are selected for further development in the afternoon session.



12:30 – 1:30 PM: Lunch Break (60 minutes)



1:30 – 2:30 PM: Pitch Development (60 minutes)

  • Press Release (45 minutes):In small, cross-functional teams, create a pitch for the new product. Teams need to complete the Press Release template that includes a tagline, the customer problem and a high level solution. Teams can optionally provide visual sketches or diagrams to help articulate the idea. 

  • Risk Identification & Mitigation (15 minutes):Each team identifies the biggest risk(s) or key assumption in their product and outlines the fastest, cheapest way to test and reduce that risk (e.g., a small experiment or proof-of-concept). A simple template is used to document these points.



2:30 – 2:45 PM: Coffee Break (15 minutes)



2:45 – 3:45 PM: Testing, Feedback & Iteration (60 minutes)

  • Product Presentations (30 minutes):Each team presents their new product. Peers provide constructive feedback.

  • Iteration & Refinement (15 minutes):Teams incorporate feedback to fine-tune both their product vision, PR and risk mitigation strategies.



3:45 – 4:00 PM: Roadmap Development (15 minutes)

  • Prioritization (15 minutes):Everyone has $100 to invest in the ideas presented. The investment can be split amongst multiple ideas. Participants indicate their investment and the total investment is used as a way to prioritize the new products on the roadmap.



4:00 – 4:30 PM: Reflection (30 minutes)

  • Reflection Activity (15 minutes):Participants share key insights, opportunities, and challenges from the day. Participants are prompted to provide one thing from the day that they will take back to their day to day work. 

  • Wrap-Up (15 minutes):A brief activity to reinforce the collaborative spirit, followed by closing remarks that summarize the workshop’s achievements.







 
 
 

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